Family Ties
by Tylea002
Summary: Oran's first case for C-Sec Investigation brings old ghosts back to haunt him. In-Progress. Please R&R, I don't have enough people to tell me what I'm doing wrong.
1. Promotion

**Family Ties**

**Jackson Tyler**

* * *

**1 - PROMOTION**

_Decryption level: AMBER  
Passcode Accepted: _

_FROM: EP.C-SEC.HEAD.104  
TO: OR.C-SEC.INVES.1824_

_Message is as follows._

_Following your recent promotion, your account and MS have been upgraded to Investigation level. Based on your current record, qualifications and recommendations, Citadel Security have seen it fit to give you lead of one of our investigative teams._

_Your team shall consist of:_

_Ganex Railus (TURIAN)  
(GR.C-SEC.INVES.1824)_

_Jaden Jennings (HUMAN)  
(JJ.C-SEC.INVES.1824)_

_Asi'ra Tassev (ASARI)  
(AT.C-SEC.INVES.1824)_

_This promotion means our expectations of you have changed. Don't expect any emergency calls, you aren't an Enforcement officer anymore. Your main aim is to gather intelligence and evidence on suspects on the Citadel, and if required, beyond. You, as team leader, have been given minor Special Response training, but if things get too hot, do not hesitate to contact SR._

_Due to the nature of investigative teams, you will not be dealing with one type of crime only. Be prepared to investigate everything from homicides to narcotics operations._

_Do things by the book, you aren't the law. When you have sufficient evidence against a suspect it is your job to bring him in for questioning, not take him down yourself. If you have sufficient evidence against the suspect, report them to me, and I shall submit them to CCC. _

_You have permission to use force to bring in suspects, but only if the force is necessary – I don't want you gunning down innocent men in the hope you shoot a bad guy._

_Now good luck, any cases shall be sent straight to your MS via your Omni-Tool._

_Executor Palin._


	2. Original

**2 - Original**

The presidium had the usual hum to it; people running about, back and forth, to get to where they needed to go. The markets were packed with people, and there was a rather long, and therefore unpleasant queue outside of Barla Von's office. There was some valuable information obviously on sale today.

That wasn't why Oran was here, however. It was his first day on the Job, and he was on his way to get his official badge and other commodities. Oran didn't exactly like Executor Palin, and wasn't too happy about being prised from his bed so early to allow him to get there. He wished the Executor could have at least shown some consideration for nature's preference of when you wake up.

Oran didn't let this bother him too much, he needed the credits, and he needed a walk. He always walked this way, even though through the wards was much quicker. He was conscious of his problems, and knew he wouldn't be able to resist the odd game of quasar at flux. He had more important things to do this morning – drowning his sorrows would have to wait.

The presidium's constant daylight also helped to get him truly awake. Oran would have preferred a natural sun any day, but C-Sec paid well, and he always wanted to bring dirty bastards to justice. He still didn't know what to expect though. There was never a shortage of scum, and therefore no shortage of things to investigate. Murders, Crime Syndicates and Smuggling Rings – it could be any one of those, though he secretly hoped it was the first; Infiltration never was his strong point.

He checked his watch, and there was no rush, though being early never hurt anyone. Well, not most people. Oran had a strong, not hate but more distrust and dislike of technology. While he had an Omni-Tool installed, he always preferred to use basic earth technologies, like his watch. An analogue one, he could probably sell it as a relic for rather a lot of credits, but he wasn't going to.

Oran paused for a moment, and looked over the edge into the artificial river. Well, he guessed it was artificial because the likelihood of a natural water source inside the citadel was highly unlikely, but he could never be truly sure. This station was full of surprises. He caught his reflection in the water, his brown eyes seemed to stare back up at him.

His new armour was custom made, an old friend at Kassa owed him a favour. He saw it on himself for the first time, Colossus VIII Medium armour. It was military grade, and Oran was worried he would appear a kiss-ass showing up in this. However, like all C-Sec investigators armour, it was disguised to blend in. Human armour stuck out like a sore thumb, whereas many other species wore it all the time. Oran knew that humans would come round to this way of thinking eventually; the galaxy was a dangerous place.

His armour was actually concealed beneath basic clothing. Unlike most, his clothing was, shall we say, unique. He wore rugged Denim jeans, an all but defunct style of clothing in this day and age. His shirt was just that, a shirt, with an undershirt beneath it.

Oran's choice of clothes didn't really stick out any less than his armour, but he certainly didn't look much like someone who would be dangerous in a fight. And he probably wasn't considering the main reason he had custom built armour was to make it able to be removed before his clothes. It helped with the ladies, he said. It probably did, because someone stripping down to their pants but actually having a whole set of body armour on wouldn't go down very well.

His hair matched the rest of him perfectly. It was wild, and he had died it to a light red colour. Oran liked his originality, and short dark hair was one of the most unoriginal things in this age. However, he had visions of people telling him to smarten up, now that he wasn't forced into Enforcer uniform every day. And he knew the day would come where this hair would go for when he had to infiltrate a gang or something like that.

He checked his watch again, and it seemed that time had flown by while he was lost in his thoughts. Thankfully, he wasn't too far from C-Sec, and it was barely 5 minutes before he had walked down the slope and into the lift that took him down. A lift he had taken many times before, but this one would take him further down than any.


	3. Ashes

**3 - ASHES**

Feet were pounding on the hard metal floor. An Asari was running. Her breath was heavy. Her heart was beating fast. She wasn't just running – she was running for her life. That much was obvious, and would have been to any passers-by. That is, if there were any around.

If there was someone, they would have seen her slim, blue body, leaving faint footprints of blood behind her. If there was someone, they would have seen her torn clothes, the ruined fabric around her. If there was someone. But there wasn't. She was alone.

The Asari ran down the streets of this empty ward, trying to get away – to safety. Unfortunately, safety didn't seem to be anywhere near her, as she ducked and dived at top speed through every conceivable alleyway in existence, not showing any sign of slowing down, or the look of fear that was imprinted on her face disappearing.

However, something made her stop. A glimmer of light. A sign of hope, maybe. In less than two seconds, with sweat running down her face, she managed to dive on her front, and swipe a pistol from the floor. She was on her feat again in no time, running away from someone, or something.

She turned down another alley, ducked down another and twisted down a third. She never knew she had this much energy, she never thought it was even possible. She thought she had to have run for miles; she must be near some signs of life. Alas, it was not to be. This part of the wards was still nigh on empty, and it was a long way before she got anywhere near the sections that weren't.

She paused for a moment, weighing up her options. Clasping her gun tightly, she risked a quick glance behind her, and stopped dead. Her eyes, normally calm and majestic turned bloodshot. She readied her weapon, and aimed it. She pulled the trigger, and, unaware that she had the courage to do so, pulled the trigger. The gun was empty. Confused, the Asari wondered why this one wouldn't shoot, for they never run out of ammo, and was forced to stare blankly into her attackers eyes.

"You know, I didn't even have to run." The voice sent shivers down the Asari's spine. "And I see you picked up the gun; I thought it was a nice present. You might want to keep hold of it."

And with that, the Asari was blinded by a flash of light. It happened so suddenly, but seemingly in slow motion. Her eyes showed signs of remorse, and forgiveness, but mainly sorrow – before turning red hot with the rest of her blue body, which eventually turned to ashes.


	4. Team

**4 – TEAM**

"Well, hello there, Oran. Nice to see you actually prised yourself from your bed."

"Cheers. No offence, but who might you be?"

"Who do you think, I'm Ganex."

Oran was shocked, he was late. His team had already been briefed and been given instructions, and Palin had buggered off. All the better, probably, because talking to Palin wasn't at the top of his agenda.

"Aw crap. My watch is slow, isn't it?"

"If you still use a watch, I'd say you're the slow one." Ganex was cocky, but friendly. At least his first team member wasn't a dick. He was used to seeing Turian dicks with their hate for humans. No matter how much he told them that he was just a kid during the First Contact War, they still seemed to hold a natural dislike to him. Which made rising up C-Sec's ranks even harder. Trying to impress Palin, the spindly Turian head of C-Sec was like trying to kill a Thresher Maw with a toothpick. Well, maybe it wasn't that bad.

While he was lost in thought, and rather suddenly, Oran's Omni-Tool bleeped, cutting the conversation short.

"So you do have one, I was beginning to wonder if you had anything modern at all."

Oran stepped aside quickly, and brought up his Omni-Tool around his arm. He pressed his right hand into the orangey hologram that had formed around his left arm, and managed a tight smile. It was a message from one of his old friends.

_DECRYPTION LEVEL: AMBER  
PASSCODE ACCEPTED:_

_FROM: TS.C-SEC.ENFOR.283  
TO: OR.C-SEC.INVES.1824_

_Message is as follows_

_You know what the great thing about the Citadel is? No wind, that's what. It makes our job a whole lot easier. Anyway, Oran, congratulations on your promotion, I think I might have your first case. Being your old friend and all, I thought you'd like this, its kind of your thing. And, if your confused, yes I'm C-Sec now!_

_I'm sending an official case record to Palin, and I know you're on your way to talk to him, heck, you're probably on the lift there now. Don't worry; I'll keep waiting at the scene for an hour or so, hopefully. Make sure he sends you down here soon; I don't want to freeze my arse off. I don't care if there's no wind, its still effing freezing._

_Tanya Stevens_

Oran looked up, with a slight smile on his face. "Come on, I think we may have a job."

"Already? You have some friends in high places."

"I said that I think." Oran paused, momentarily unable to think of what to say. "Whatever, lead me to the rest of the team, do we have an office or something, I always wanted my own office, or lab or something, never knew why."

Ganex looked at him for a second, before moving on, leading him into a maze of offices, laboratories and other such rooms. While he was an Enforcement officer, Oran had not been allowed back here too much. C-Sec feared infiltration, and you needed to prove yourself before you could actually make a difference in it.

"So how far are we gonna have to walk?"

"It's just down here – are you always this lazy." Ganex Sighed. "Meet the team." He stopped before a door, and put his hand onto the green pad next to it. The door broke into 2 parts, and each part slid away into the wall, giving Oran and Ganex space to step in.

The room was nice. Unlike most of C-Sec – which was constantly coated in a cold blue light – this room had natural lighting like in the Presidium. The ceiling was coated in strips that emulated the light that the sun would shine on earth. Oran noticed the little details before he noticed the people. There was a vase at the back, a pointless little decoration, which looked like it could be easily smashed. The plant inside it showed no signs of decay, and looked perfectly cared for. Strange for an office plant, Oran thought, and reasoned that it was either a fake, or someone here was a gardener. A rare breed on the Citadel, many of them set up on half empty planets with perfect atmospheres for their desired garden. A lonely life, a quiet life. Oran could tell that didn't suit many who worked at C-Sec.

Then he noticed the people. They were sitting in an area at the front of the room, which had sofas, rather than behind their desks. The desks were towards the back of the room, with almost a welcoming area at the front, with a board on the front wall. Oran found his eyes drawn to it, before realizing all eyes were focused on him. This scan of the room had put him square in the middle of an awkward silence.

He wasn't the one to break it. The Asari, Asi'ra Tassev, stood up and spoke up. "Aren't you going to say hello?"

Oran was surprised. Caught off guard maybe. The shock of seeing Ganex when he was expecting Palin meant he didn't have time to build up expectations for what he would be like. But, during the short walk, he had the chance to contemplate and speculate what kind of people he would be working with. Though upon meeting them, he wasn't sure what he actually did expect. All he knew was that this wasn't it. Asi'ra was gentle – you could tell that by the tone of her voice. She wasn't arrogant or feisty. Most Asari's that worked in C-Sec or the military were. Oran could tell she didn't just want to get out there and fight. She cared, and she wanted to make a difference.

Oran finally replied. "Yes, yes. Hello." He paused again, shocked by how hard it was to talk to two people instead of one - he didn't have this problem talking to Ganex. At least that was his reasoning behind the situation. Thankfully Asi'ra was able to, yet again, soothe the situation.

"You are Oran, I take it?" She paused for a second, to allow him to nod. "I'm Asi'ra, we were beginning to wonder if you weren't going to show up."

Ganex was quick to reply. "He still uses an analogue watch. Probably made back on earth, ages ago."

Oran could talk banter much better than he could talk formally. A different subject helped. "Its not a relic, and its much more reliable than this Omni-Tool. Anyway, day and night and time get confusing on a space station. At least the presidium makes an effort with natural lighting that change based on the time. The wards are constantly dark, light only coming from neon signs."

A new voice entered the conversation at this point. Jaden Jennings finally spoke up. He was an almost perfectly conventional soldier. Short brown hair. Stocky, muscular build. However, Oran could tell something was different. This person wasn't a soldier. The first clue was in the glasses, it was regulation for all soldiers in the Systems Alliance to have perfect, 20/20 vision, and if they didn't, eye correction surgery would have taken place – glasses were almost as uncommon as those with Oran's dress sense. Almost.

"The wards are dark places, it goes with the setting." He spoke slightly on edge, probably excited. Oran guessed that he was proud and nervous about his new position. "Oh, and I'm JJ by the way. It's always been my nickname."

Oran made a mental note. JJ. It was also conventional for those in the military to give themselves nicknames. Whatever had happened to him there, it sure left its mark deep inside him.

Before the conversation could continue, the door swished open. Palin walked in, and his attention landed on Oran. He could feel the lecture coming, about how punctuality was required, orders must be followed, but instead came a short line, which actually made Oran respond. "Where the hell have you been?"

Oran looked blank for a second, before JJ gave him a subtle kick on the leg. "Sir, my watch must have been slow. It won't happen again."

"You use a watch?"

Oran sighed. Did people really care that much if he was stuck in the past. Though Ganex was, as always, quick to comment on the matter.

"Its an analogue one. Looks pretty damn old. Goes with his earth retro style."

Palin risked a slight smirk. "Well, anyway, I have a job for you. Get to CRT ASAP, looks like you've got a homicide." He left. Palin was a man of few words, when he was in a good mood. Oran looked at Ganex for a moment, astonished at how he diffused the situation so quickly.

"Don't mention it." Oran didn't even need to say a word. "Introductions later, I presume?"

Oran started to take charge of his team. "Yeah, but for now, we've got a job to do."


	5. Scene

**5 – SCENE**

Citadel Rapid Transit. While extremely helpful, Oran found it very unpractical. It got you where you needed to go, to the nearest CRT terminal, but to get there you had to be squeezed into a very tight mini rocket, and be fired across the citadel, down a series of tubes in the walls and on them. The gravitational stabilisers helped, but it still made Oran feel like throwing up every time. His hair got thrown about so madly that it stuck up, waving around, like he had just got out of bed. Combine this with his peculiar style, and climbing out of a CRT tube made him look like someone from the past landing slap bang in the middle of the Citadel.

He dealt with it though, and when he arrived, he was greeted with a friendly face. Tanya Stevens stared at him, smiling for a moment, while he regained his senses, then jumped and flung her arms round him, allowing him to lose them again.

"God, nice to see you again. Its been ages." She stepped back, and then tugged at her shirt, as if to show off. "Aren't you going to congratulate me on my promotion?"

Oran paused for a moment, caught slightly off guard. "Yes, yes. How long have you had it? Because I was surprised it was you when I got your message." Talking to Tanya now made him go back in his mind a few years. He'd known her since his mother died, and when they both arrived on the citadel they'd kept in good contact, before slowly, ever so slowly they barely noticed, drifting away from each other. Oran truly didn't know how long it had been since he had seen her. A year or two, maybe? He stared at her cropped black hair, that nicely complemented her oval head. In perfect symmetry in the centre of that head, were her eyes. Blue, and glistening in the neon, they shone into his head, mesmerising him. He'd forgotten how beautiful she was, and it brought old feelings back. Feelings he decided to let lie for now.

"Go on then, stay quiet, proper conversation always leaves you petrified, you never change. And neither has your sense of style. At least you haven't succumb to the urge to be like everyone else, but, denim? You might need to start to blend in soon, you're moving up the ranks."

"We'll see about that. Anyway, I was never good with computers, so I'm not gonna move up to network, and I don't want to go into any military type of job, like Special Response. I'm fine where I am; I'm not a politician or a soldier, so you have to admit I'm stuck in my place in the ranks. And thanks for being the only person I've talked to not to moan about my watch.

"It is a very old watch." Ganex was behind him, starting to chuckle. "You know I'm never going to let this go, don't you?"

Oran hadn't noticed Ganex arrive, and turned behind him to see the whole team standing there. He decided to move the conversation on, swiftly. "So, Tan, we were told this is a homicide case, where's the body?"

"Well, first off, it isn't quite that simple." She paused for the inevitable sigh that would come after this. "And second, cheer up a bit, just because you've been promoted it doesn't mean that you have to be all business now."

Oran sighed and shrugged it off. He was trying to concentrate on the surroundings, thinking it would be much more beneficial than getting into an argument, to take in every little detail around this crime scene. The walls were lined with neon signs, with scrolling text giving everything from Advertisements to News. It was dark, the street bathed in a cold blue light, like it always was in the wards. There was nothing suspicious about the surroundings, however. Oran looked around for cameras. They were well hidden, Citadel Security was very good at blending in their cameras, but Oran knew what to look for. From the position he was at, he saw that 3 could have had a view of where he was standing. No blood, no apparent trace of a murder. He snapped himself out of it; he wasn't at the crime scene yet, this was no time to jump to conclusions.

Oran looked at Tanya, who signalled it was time to move. They started to walk into the side streets, lit by orange streetlamps attached to buildings. The little people that were on the main street had now disappeared – these streets were empty. There would have been no witnesses.

Yellow tape lined the next wall. Ganex stopped and peered over the edge, then looked at Tanya. It was the look that said 'Are you wasting my time?' He finally spoke up "We were told this was a homicide case, so why is the crime scene empty?"

"I'm coming to that." She said, with a look of satisfaction on her face. She'd been expecting this and was ready to deal with the situation.

They crouched under the tape and followed her, Ganex and Oran rolling their eyes, with JJ and Asi'ra following silently. They stopped at a pile of dust on the floor. Oran crouched down and looked at it, then up at Tanya. "We're investigating this?"

"Why not? They are the ashes of a murder victim."


	6. Julia

**6 – JULIA**

Flames lined the sky, and rained down onto the now red hot earth, turning the planet into hell itself. People ran wild, left and right, trying to get away, but there was no where to go. In the sky, there was a big metal object, a spaceship, surrounded by a ring of flames, bringing down doom on the planet below. Shanxi was in ruins.

The year was 2157, and Julia Rosa was one of the fleeing. Her 5 year old son was grabbing onto her hand, refusing to let go. She was searching for a way off this doomed world. Every tree, every blade of grass was alight, and the ground was shaking from the missiles and the rockets.

She knew the bombardment would stop soon, her town was simply another being wiped in a slow process. This was a siege. A planet wide siege. And the Systems Alliance would not last that long.

Julia knew that eventually the Turians would land, and a more conventional style of warfare would be used. And that was her ticket out of this horrible situation, or rather her son's. You see, while most were sprinting aimlessly away. Rosa was going somewhere. Deep underground the alien soils of this planet; lay her, no, her son's final hope. She looked into his eyes and saw his desperation, his fear and his hope. The hope that only the young bring.

There was no time to dwell on hope, though. The Turian bombardment wouldn't wait for anyone, so Julia knew she had to keep on moving. A shell could come at any time, and the less time in the open the better. She told herself to stop fretting, and just keep moving. It didn't really work.

Suddenly the ground shook. Julia clutched her little boy tight, as they were both plucked up and thrown vigorously to the ground. In this moment where she was flat, face down, lying in the mud, she felt the heat of the Earth. It burnt her skin. She looked closer and it seemed as though the soil had all been turned red. A tragic shame, Shanxi was such a beautiful, beautiful planet. And now it was lost. Lost to war.

War. Julia abhorred it. She wouldn't ever fight for her planet, her race. She wouldn't even fight to save her own life. There was only one reason she would ever pick up a gun. And it was upon her now. Or rather, she was clutching it tight.

She would never let anything bad happen to him. His dad was gone, and she had raised him alone. All alone. Without anyone else, she had managed to raise a perfect son. And she wasn't going to let him become a statistic on the list of the dead. War had taken too much already.

As she stood up, she hoisted her little boy into her arms, no longer content with him just holding her hand. She would carry him. In her arms she held him, just like she did when he was tiny. His beautiful black hair flapped over his brown eyes. Eyes that were staring back into her own brown eyes, with black hair swaying about in front of them. He was the closest thing she had to a mirror. And it sickened her to think that she would have to let him go.


End file.
